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A review of the top 250 films from IMDB.com

Tag Archives: GERMAN

The Nazi guy is executing some Jews and runs out of bullets,i’d hate to be the next guy waiting to get shot.

Now here’s a film that gets my goat. I’m not saying it’s a bad film,it’s just when you put a face on an atrocity like genocide it just makes me hate humanity. I mean this was only 70 years ago but the brutality and cold heartedness just sickens me.This film is very close to Life is Beautiful on the list,also about the holocaust,and maybe it’s by watching these two close together that has depressed me a bit.Shit,i bet Schlinders list is till to come too.The Pianist is based on a real person,who died in 2000,who managed to survive some 8-9 years of ducking and diving from the Germans.First he’s put in the ghetto,then he’s getting shipped of to the camps but a friends pulls him from the line,then he’s hiding in an allies house,then moved to another.As Warsaw gets bombed and overrun with Germans he finds himself hiding opposite the Hospital and barracks.He does get into some ropey situations but the main thing that’s going to kill him is starvation.There’s not much piano playing after the first 30 minutes.Near the end when it seems like he’s fucked,a German of all people helps him survive the final weeks of the war.Like the opening shot of Brody playing the piano it ends with him playing us out.Albeit this time to a packed concert hall with a whole symphony behind him.

IMDB RATING – 8.4
MY RATING – 7.8
SEEN BEFORE – HALF OF IT
RECOMMEND? – NO
OVERALL – SOME GOOD CASTING WITH BRODY.HIS BROTHERS CHARACTER WAS A DOUCHE.

M is an interesting film.I said before that to be a very old film on this list you have to try to innovative and experimental with your camera shots and effects. M has a few great bits that are bog standard now.I’ll list a few,it’s some cuts that you can’t even notice that blend into the next scene(the beggars bar) or some really good tracking shots and the steady cam wasn’t around for another 50 years.Also the voice over by the detective and the imagery to go with it. M also has some original stuff that caught me off guard,namely the parts that had minimal audio.I thought my speaker had came loose from the laptop more than once.I can imagine watching this in the cinema would have been tense.The story is about a guy in Germany running about and killing loads of kids.It doesn’t mention anything about molestation or rape so i guess it’s just plain vanilla murder.The cops are looking everywhere to no avail.The people start to get hysterical and any guy with a kid is getting a hard time.The Mafia or mob decide to find the guy themselves.But they can’t look everywhere so what do they do?They get ‘the beggars union’ on the case.Beggars union,ha.As they see it no one will notice the beggars watching every where.I won’t spoil the ending but as far as i see it the killer is psychotic and not evil.

IMDB RATING – 8.4
MY RATING – 8
SEEN BEFORE – NO
RECOMMEND? – YES
OVERALL – THE GERMAN LANGUAGE IS SO HARSH.EVEN GERMANS WHISPERING SOUNDS LIKE TWO DRUNKS ARGUING AT FULL VOLUME.AN ENGLISH VERSION WOULD BE BETTER.

The boats only tested to go 90 meters yet this dial thing goes up to 260.

There’s not that many films about submarines;the hunt for red October and crimson tide and that’s about it.It says in the beginning that 30,000 out of the 40,000 u-boat crew die.3 out of 4 that’s some bad odds.After watching this film it say that living and working in a submarine would be pure hell.These guys are under a shitload of pressure,mentally and physically,and they’re just getting bombed flat out with depth charges and planes shooting them and what not.They do sink a few enemy destroyers but even then they’re not happy because when they surface to see the boat and finish it off they see that there’s still men on the boat burning alive and screaming for help and it puts a human face on the whole thing a few guys have a wee cry.One or two of the guys on the sub get a bit of cabin fever and freak out a bit but it’s all to be expected.The sub looks massive on the inside,room for 50 men and only 1 toilet.

Wild Strawberries is a German,i think,film about a doctor who is on his way to receive an honorary award for 50 years service. Essentially it’s a road trip movie,its him and his sons wife in the car initially but they pick up 3 young ones and then a further two more who they boot out of the car for being dicks.But throughout the trip the doctors life is shown with flashbacks and some weird dream sequences.We see that he kind of regrets being cold and keeping his loved ones at a distance.But at the very beginning we see that was has intentions when he was younger.Now that he’s 75 he’s realised he has no friends or companions.Woe is me.Not a bad film overall,good for 1957.

IMDB RATING – 8.2
MY RATING – 7
SEEN BEFORE – NO
RECOMMEND? – NO
OVERALL – AN OKAY FILM BUT NOTHING SPECTACULAR.

Well as they say in the cartoons : “That’s all folks!” It’s been a long year and i thought i’d try and do a last post to recap and maybe wrap it all up with some stats on the directors or writers. Right lets look at the Directors first. Tied at the top with 8 […]

And finally…. yes i finally made it to film number 1.Yee haa.And it’s the 1994 classic – The Shawshank Redemption. Based on a Stephen King short story from 1982.Couple of good performances from Robbins and Freeman.Shawshank is about a guy called Andy Dufresne who is falsely given two 30 year life sentences when his […]

Set in 1945 The Godfather is about a mafia family boss who happens to be the godfather to around a dozen kids.It must sting the wallet at Christmas time.This Mafia boss,Don Corleone, is hot shit and can make virtually anything happen with his spectacular offers that no one can refuse.Anyway this guy wants Don Corleone […]

I said in my very first post that i would watch every film in order and i have up until this.Lord of The Rings and Star Wars included.But they messed me around doing that so seeing as i’m at the last 2 films I’ve gone ahead and watched Godfather I first.Right Godfather II follows on […]

I think Pulp Fiction is one of the most over rated films out there .There are some good scenes and a few bits of dialogue but as a whole,i don’t like it.Even at this early stage in his career Tarantino has a few title cards that aren’t even needed.Why must he spoon feed the audience?Give […]

The last Leone film on the list and it starts in true Leone style.It’s got a cool title sequence,with animated text and what not.It’s also got all the other bucks form his other films,Van Cleef,Eastwood and the guy who had the musical watch in the last film.The beginning has his familiar beginnings;a few cowboys walking […]

12 Angry Men is about 12 jurors trying to reach a judgement on murder case.This is an old one and i remember seeing it a good few years ago and thinking it was great.There’e quite a bit of dialogue in this film,well i guess it’s all dialogue.It was nice to get a break form the […]

Dark Knight?Dark shite more like.Nah,that’s a bit harsh innit?I’m not sure why but i don’t like this film.Maybe it was all the hype surrounding it what with The Ledge dying pretty soon after filming.I liked the one before this and the one after it but this one i thought was just a bit average.Nothing spectacular.The […]

Schindler’s List is a romantic comedy in which Liam Neeson plays Schindler,a man who loses his memory every night when he falls asleep.He relies on a complex series of notes and lists to function in modern day Miami.Rob Schneider plays the love interest. Actually nothing could be further from the truth.Here we have movie 6 […]

Four hours and ten minutes.Four fucking hours and ten minutes.Let me tell you this;normally when i see a film that runs 3 hours long i get a bit ,eh, apprehensive .Normally i like to have a beer or two when i do these reviews and i think after 4 fucking hours i don’t think i […]